Safe Haven
by imagine.believe
Summary: Echo Town is not your regular town: its residents are actually magical creatures you could find in myths and tales. They have one common ground: they are outcasts, and Echo Town is their safe haven. What would happen when two mortals, outcasts themselves, somehow find their way to this town to seek refuge? Can Echo Town be their safe haven, too? Or will it be their end?
1. Journey Through the Forest

**_So, the idea of this story doesn't come from me, but rather from my friend, whom you might know as Akikaze Ryo - Rain55 (ah yes, we are friends in real life). Of course I wrote this with her permission. ^^_**

**_Actually, some of you might have noticed I started a new story on Dragon's Tears series. I have decided to discontinue it (I only posted the first chapter) in favor of this story._**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon. This story will include references, intended or intentional, to other works related to the subject in discussion. I do not own them either. All rights go to the rightful owner of respective materials. I understand that this site will not archive entry based on Anne Rice's works, but there could be some parts in future chapters that might be construed as referencing to her works._**

**_With that said, please enjoy! ^^_**

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><p><em>Only a few had ever heard the name Echo Town, and less knew of its location. However, everyone who needed shelter, a safe haven, always found their way to this settlement.<em>

_And when we say 'everyone', we do mean… everyone._

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><p>"Are you sure it's here?" her sister glanced once again at the map. "There's nothing on the map…"<p>

Reine tightened her grip around Gwen's hand. "They do say the town is quite… hard to find."

Gwen bit her lower lip. Her palm began sweating.

"Are you tired?" Reine asked concernedly. She began to think that their plan was too rash, or even insane.

However, Gwen shook her head. "I couldn't stand them anymore, either."

"That doesn't mean we… I mean—"

"Reine, _I_ chose to go with you," Gwen interjected calmly. "Besides, remember what the doctor said? The chemo isn't really working anymore."

Reine looked around, trying to capture as wide landscape as possible, as they kept walking. Despite what the map had drawn, somehow Reine felt that they were going to the right direction. Her gut feelings—if she could call it so—told her that they were going to find it: their safe haven.

Actually, if the sisters had not been too focused on their search, they would find the forest they were in to be quite an apt description of 'safe haven', in a way. The trees stood tall over them, filtering the sunlight so that they wouldn't be overwhelmed. Then, there were the wildflowers of various kinds and colors spread across the ground. The spring breeze carried these scents, sweet and light—a change from the bitingly cold winter still air that was still fresh in their memories.

The pinkette felt her fringe fell down, covering her left eye, but she didn't bother to sweep it back. It made no difference to her, anyway, since she had been blind in her left eye for about five years now.

Looking back, that was when everything turned south for both of them. They had been living with their aunt's family since their parents were killed in a car accident. Then, there was Gwen's sickness, which seemed to win her over slowly but surely despite all the efforts they had done to keep it at bay.

Their aunt and uncle often insinuated of how heavy medical bills these days every chance they got, and their cousins were being less than cordial as well. None of them could be Gwen's bone marrow donor—the sisters doubted they would even if they could, though. When the oncologist told them that the current chemo wasn't working as well as it's supposed to, they grumbled a lot. Prior to the accident, Reine took up part-time jobs to help cover the medical bills—at least enough to keep a roof over their heads. However, after the accident, she was sacked while still adapting to live with only her right eye.

_That accident…_

Her head hurt every time she thought of it, so she tried not to. She had enough to think about even without that accident; why dwelling in the past when you have your present and future to think about?

"Reine, look at that!"

Gwen's voice snapped her out from her mind and she immediately looked forward. The path in front of them was covered in fog, although it was supposed to be a sunny day. Reine frowned and turned her head slightly to the left; if they were to continue their journey, they had to step into the fog.

"Should we turn back?" Gwen asked.

The nearest town would be a three-hour walk, plus another hour uphill journey. Gwen's wavering voice told Reine that it might be not a good idea. Plus, something—her gut feelings again—told her that they were already near. That safe haven they were looking for was across, if not within, that fog.

"We'll take a break here."

"Huh?"

"Perhaps the fog would be thinner then."

Gwen nodded; her soles began to feel sore, anyway. They sat down under a nearby tree after putting down their luggage. Gwen watched her sister from the corner of her eyes; Reine had adapted very well to her current circumstances such that no one could really tell that she was half-blind—as long as they didn't approach her from her left, that is. Gwen then glanced at her palm; she remembered the oncologist's warning: _Try not to bruise, much less bleed, yourself._

Looking at her palm now, it seemed that she got paler and paler no matter how obediently she had followed that warning.

Half an hour later, the fog showed no signs of dissipating while the sisters were ready to continue their journey. They put their backpacks on again, and Reine held her sister's hand.

Looking at the fog squarely, she said: "Don't ever let go, okay?"

* * *

><p>Dunhill looked far away to the path that would lead him into the forest. His first thought was to go to Rosario—or Rio, as she'd preferred to be called—to confirm his hunch. Besides, he would need her help if it was true, anyway.<p>

Thus, he walked to the farm, placed at far south of the town; she should still be there at this time of the day.

And he was right; Rio was tending to her crops when he arrived. Her farm produced the best crops in the region—the greenest he had ever seen for himself. Well, considering that she _was _an earth nymph, it shouldn't come as a surprise, anyway.

"Rio!" he called out. The farmer turned her head and waved excitedly, "Dunhill!" she said. She took off her cow-print cowboy hat while walking towards him, letting her bright yellow hair being blown free by the spring breeze.

"Anything I could help you with?" she asked in a friendly tone.

"I think someone will come soon," he told her.

Rio closed her eyes and she stood still for a moment. When Dunhill saw those clear blue eyes again, he knew that his hunch wasn't off. "There's an empty space next to the salon. I think it will fit a cottage. Don't worry, I already have everything I need."

"Thank you so much, Rio."

Rio smiled. "I think you should pick him, or her, up. I'm curious as well."

"You're right."

Dunhill left the farm for the forest, on his way to the Mist. The Mist, located far inside the forest, was the barrier that had protected the town ever since its early years. He knew, however, despite the strong ancient magic he had employed in creating the Mist, stories had somehow been spread among the mortals about this town. People called the town a 'safe haven'—some would even venture to name it as 'Echo Town', a reference to its elusive nature, perhaps.

He should've known better about humans, but perhaps he had been removed from them for too long that he began to forget.

When he arrived in front of the Mist, he put his hand on it, slowly dissipating the magical fog. Two figures appeared from it—two young females, one noticeably paler than the other.

"You must be new around here," he greeted them amicably.

They turned their heads and looked at him at the same time.

The first young woman, the one with brighter complexion and sturdier build, stood in front of her companion, effectively shielding her from him. Her pink hair seemed to be incongruous to the kind of aura she emitted—a single flower amidst scorching lava. Her eyes were leafy green, another of her peculiarity.

After centuries doing what he was doing, he thought he should've been open-minded. He wondered what she could be—another nymph, perhaps? _No, no… never seen a nymph with this kind of aura,_ he thought. Yet, he was sure that he had felt this kind of aura before—not identical, perhaps, but close enough to be considered 'similar' at the very least.

"What are you staring at?" the young woman asked. There was a hint of defensiveness in her tone, something that he often encountered every time a new resident-to-be appeared.

"I'm sorry," he said in a conciliatory tone. "I was wondering whether you are looking for Echo Town."

"You know about it?"

"Yes, of course. I live there."

That didn't put her guard down. Her brows—pink, proving that her hair was natural—were still furrowed tensely. She glared at him, her eyes staring straight into his.

Dunhill saw the other girl put her hand on the pinkette's shoulder. She turned around and they talked in a low voice. Their conversation ended swiftly, with now the pale girl seemed to be in charge. "Do you mind… showing us the way?" she asked gently, smiling.

"Of course not," Dunhill stretched his hand out. "Do you need help with your luggage?"

"I got this, thanks," the pinkette replied curtly while adjusting the bag slung over her shoulder. However, she glanced at the other woman with a worried look, who simply gave a small nod and a small smile.

The three of them walked in silence along the forest path, with Dunhill leading the way. "It's a small town, and we always welcome new residents, as long as they comply with this one rule."

"What?"

"Be open-minded," he said. "We have people from various backgrounds. Clashes are imminent if we're not being open-minded."

"Oh…"

"That leads me to my question…" Dunhill turned around to face the two women right before the town's entrance. "What are you?"

Reine and Gwen frowned. _What kind of question is that?!_

Dunhill saw their reluctance to reply. "You don't have to answer it," he assured them. "Just remember… be open-minded, okay?"

_Be open-minded._

At that point of time, none of the sisters realized how important it truly was.

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><p><em>Be open-minded.<em>

_What will happen to the sisters next?_

_Stay tuned to find out!_

_Thanks for reading! Please rate and review! ^^_

**_A/N: by the way, I'm quite curious about what character do you think will be what creature! Please do tell me what you think! ^^_**


	2. Welcome to Echo Town

_teamBLAZE: thanks for the encouragement! ^^_

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><p>Their first impression of Echo Town was… quiet. The road—made of stone—was relatively empty. Nevertheless, if someone happened to pass by, he or she would always greet them with a smile. All in all, not a bad town to settle in.<p>

They turned at the intersection and found a blonde woman standing in front of a small house. The blonde woman waved her hand excitedly at them; Reine found her cow print cowboy hat to be entertaining, at the very least.

When they arrived at the blonde woman, Dunhill gestured towards the house. "You can stay here," he told them.

Gwen and Reine blinked in surprise.

"Oh, by the way, this is Rio."

The blonde girl grinned at them. "I hope you like it."

"She built this house."

"And if you need reparation, you can just tell me!" Rio added. "I'd appreciate it if you have the materials with you already, though. You can get the blueprints from Rebecca, the architect."

"How… about the rent?" Reine asked. "We… don't have much for now, but…"

"Relax," Dunhill interposed gently. "We don't take rents here. We don't do lease, either. You can just stay."

"What?"

Rio smiled. "This is how we run the town," she explained. "You can stay as long as you like, but you must follow that one rule…_ be open-minded_."

_Be open-minded_—they sure had heard this phrase enough for today.

It was then the door next to their house was opened. The four pairs of eyes turned towards the next building and a man appeared. He seemed to notice the strangers and smiled as he made his way towards them. "Well, well, wouldn't I just _love_ this kind of distraction?" he snickered.

Reine saw Rio nudged—elbowed—him; he laughed it off. "Seems like we're going to be neighbors. I'm Allen, and I have a salon over there," he pointed at the building he just came from—two floors with blue roof. "Feel free to come to solve your bad hair day."

Reine wasn't exactly paying attention to what he said—unlike Gwen—but suddenly she felt a pull at the left side of her head. She jerked up, but then realized the pull was caused by Allen taking a tress of her hair and brought it forward. "Hmm… rose hair… unique, but you don't seem to have taken care of this crown of yours properly, huh? What do you say of free trial with my experienced hands?"

"No, thanks," the pinkette pulled her hair back and gathered them to her right side, where she could see them.

Gwen couldn't help but to stare at him ever since he came out. He was a redhead—his was a deep red, the color of blood—while his skin came off as slightly paler than Dunhill and Rio, which made his hair stood out even more. _Did he dye it? He has a salon,_ she thought.

Suddenly, she found his icy blue eyes were staring at her. "Do you like what you see?" he smirked teasingly.

"A—I'm sorry!" Gwen apologized almost immediately. "I didn't mean to stare."

"It's okay, I know it's hard _not_ to stare at me."

Gwen swore she could feel Reine rolling her eyes at this point of time. Gwen offered her hand. "My name is Gwen."

Allen took her hand. His hand felt slightly cold against hers—perhaps his salon was equipped with air-con?

"And this is my sister, Reine."

"I hope we can be good neighbors," Allen smiled. "See you girls later. Bye, Rio, Dunhill."

With that, Allen left to the forest. "He makes his own hair products from natural ingredients. Shampoo, conditioner, dye… everything," Rio explained. "If you have some time to spare, it's not a bad idea to go to his place, actually."

_Job, of course._

"Is there… any vacancy?" Reine asked. "Any jobs… I can do?"

Dunhill and Rio looked at each other for a moment before turning at Reine again. "What did you work as previously?"

"Store clerk," Reine replied. "I'm okay with anything legal."

"I think she can help Hana out," Rio joined in. "There's an empty space next to Neil's stall, right? She can use that!"

Dunhill smiled widely. "You're right!" he said and turned towards Reine. "I guess we should move your stuff in first before discussing about the details."

Suddenly, Reine felt something hit her left shoulder. She reflexively shook it off, but it turned out that Dunhill was trying to pat her shoulder. The old man quickly pulled his hand back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

Reine turned away and shut her mouth. She just possibly got another job—what if Dunhill changed his mind if he found out about her eyes?

* * *

><p>Without being asked, Dunhill and Rio helped the sisters to move their luggage into their new house—a wooden cottage that was just cozy enough for two people. Reine and Gwen didn't bring much with them, so it didn't take a long time.<p>

Afterwards, they sat down around the square dining table. It fit them just right—four people.

"As I say before, you can open a general store," Dunhill said. "Our general store owner, Hana, has been sick. She's too old to continue running the store. Her husband, Kosaburo, has a fishing supplies store that gives them enough to eat, so we were thinking that you should take over the general store."

"And selling in their house? I don't think that's appropriate."

"There is an open space in the town square," Rio said. "Usually, there's an animal dealer opening his stall, but there is more than enough space for you to open your stall next to him."

Reine nodded comprehendingly.

"I can make you a wagon to store your supplies and all," Rio assured her. "We should meet Hana after this, she is a very nice lady."

The sisters stared at Dunhill and Rio intently. It took a moment for Rio to notice it. "…Is there anything wrong?"

"Why are you being so kind to us?" Reine asked, again with her no-nonsense approach. "We are strangers."

"Reine!" Gwen chided. "I'm sorry, she didn't mean to be this harsh, it's just—"

"It's all right," Dunhill replied gently. "We know someone just like her… with a higher degree, actually."

"That's right," Rio joined in. "So, you say we are strangers, right? That's true, but there is something we have in common."

Gwen noticed that Rio's eyes were blue, too, just like Allen. However, Rio's eyes gave off a much more cheerful aura than Allen's. If Allen's eyes were like cold sapphire, Rio's eyes were the color of the bright summer sky.

"We left our old home for this town. No matter what the reason is," she emphasized. "…I think I can speak for everyone in this town that we all know how hard it is to keep trying on living when the world seems to just _despise _us. But, we all do—that's why we're still here."

After listening to Rio, Reine felt rather bad for having treated them quite harshly. The fact that they didn't seem to be offended at all somehow made her feel more uneasy and burdened than ever.

Anger, rejection, hatred… she could take all that. She had more than half of her whole life worth of experience. Her barriers had been put up and equipped to deal with all of these invasions.

Kindness from someone she barely knew?

Before she knew it, tears came flowing out from her eyes. It was just like an immune system; strong against known invasions, but weak against the unknown.

"I'm sorry, I…" she stuttered, unable to form a full, coherent sentence.

Both Dunhill and Rio smiled understandingly; she was not the first, after all.

"Welcome to Echo Town."

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><p><em>Thanks for reading! Please rate and review ^^<em>


	3. A Potential Romance?

_Hey guys, thanks for the reviews! Teamblaze, yes, it's similar to the in-game welcome, with some tweaks. To Nyannygiri, thanks for the compliment and to nightwriter212 the delay is because I find it hard to find time to write recently, but I'm trying my best here! Thanks for your support._

_This chapter is pretty short because it's just a small interval. It should be together with the last chapter, but I liked how things ended that way in chapter 2... so this is the tiny chapter. Hope you enjoy ^^_

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><p>Today was Friday—his day off. However, that didn't mean that he could just enjoy the day, slacking off. In fact, Friday was the day he set aside to take care all the other things he couldn't because of his shop. Groceries, mostly, especially after Hana was too sick to open her store.<p>

Carrying his one-week worth of supply, he walked back through the forest. As if recognizing his steps, the animals began to gather around him: bunnies, squirrels, even foxes. He groaned, "Don't do this to me, guys…"

They stared at him with their round eyes relentlessly. He sighed in defeat and took out some nuts, and a fish for the carnivore. "Share it with the others," he said. The animals, happy for the food, dispersed just as quickly.

"Wow, who do we have here? The eternal winner of Animal Idol."

A chill ran down his spine when he heard that voice. He looked up and saw the redhead smirking at him. Perhaps, the animals didn't go away because they had gotten their food, after all.

"Mind your own business."

Allen made an exaggerated sigh. "Should I tell you after all?"

Neil raised his eyebrow. "What now?"

"There are _two_ new girls in town."

Neil simply shrugged him off and kept walking to the town. New resident was unusual, but hardly worth worrying over.

"What if I tell you…" Allen trailed off intentionally as their shoulders brushed against each other. "…if these two girls are most likely human?"

Neil immediately turned around to find Allen was already looking at him, gauging his response. The redhead seemed to be satisfied that he managed to pique the blond man's interest. "One of them definitely is," he continued. "As for the other… I sense that she has something else—which strangely reminds me of _you_."

"Bullshit," Neil retorted. "Humans can't go past through the Mist!"

"Interesting, isn't it? And they live between us—literally," he added. "Rio built a nice cottage for these two girls right between our houses."

Allen's smug smile afterwards made his stomach churned as if he had drunk one-gallon worth of bad yak milk.

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><p>Dunhill and Rio brought the sisters around the town, introducing the rest of the residents to the newcomers. Of course, they stopped by Hana's place; somehow, she took a shine for both of the sisters and she was thrilled to hear the takeover plan.<p>

Gwen was chatting with Rio while Reine preferred to look ahead. When the group passed the intersection in front of the forest path, a man appeared from the opposite side, carrying two paper bags full of groceries.

From what she could see, the young man had golden blond messy hair, like a bird nest, if she could use that imagery; she wouldn't be too surprised if a chick popped out from his head because of its color and messiness. His body was lean, cloaked in a long magenta coat, but he didn't come across as weak at all. Then, there were his eyes: purplish red and sharp—a great contrast to his hair.

"Oh, Neil, you come at the right timing!" Dunhill greeted excitedly. "Here, let me introduce you to our new re—"

"Don't bother," the Neil guy interrupted harshly.

Rio playfully nudged his arm. "They're going to live right next to you. At least let them know your name and learn theirs."

"Dunhill mentioned it already," he pointed out. "They should be intelligent enough to catch that."

Reine snorted. "Even if I did, I won't bother to remember such a dickhead's name."

"A gangster like you have no right to call me dickhead," Neil snapped back. "At least pick another color to dye your hair; pink is so disgusting."

That did it. Reine stormed off with expletives running wild from her mouth. "Reine!" Gwen called out, but Reine was too deep with her rage to respond.

Annoyed, Gwen turned at Neil. "I know her hair is not exactly common, but her hair is real. As real as your eyes—if you aren't wearing contacts," she retorted. "You should watch your mouth. There's no use for good looks if your tongue is as foul as garbage."

Gwen turned around and chased Reine, trying to calm her sister down. Reine shrugged her sister off and stomped into her house and Gwen followed soon after.

"What a…n explosive start, I must say," Dunhill commented awkwardly. "They are going to be your neighbors, Neil."

"I'll spend most of my time out, anyway," Neil shrugged.

"As a matter of fact," Rio joined in. "The pinkette is opening a stall—general store stall—next to yours."

"What the hell?!"

Neil marched off with a train of foreign phrases running out from his mouth; from his tone, they deduced that they were most probably expletives.

Dunhill and Rio, the two left in the now empty road, were now unsure what to do. They weren't even sure how to react to what had just happened in the past two, three minutes—everything went by too fast even for them to digest.

"If this is a romance… they would have one hell of a ride," Rio finally muttered. "Like… match made in heaven?"

"The modern kind of romance goes by that modus operandi, yes," Dunhill agreed.

"Do you think I should just install a counter in the sisters' house?"

"Now, now," Dunhill chuckled. "Who are we to interfere with what the stars had planned?"

"You mean…"

"I want to see where things are going with them," Dunhill said with a playful smirk. "Their sentiments are reciprocal… perhaps the change could be that way, too?"

"You sly old man," Rio smirked.

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><p><em>What do you think?<em>

_Please rate and review!_

_Thanks for reading! ^^_


	4. The Two Elizabeths

_Hey all, thanks for the reviews, the follows and the favorites. ^^_

_ToOH: Thanks! Hopefully it wouldn't come to be that way; I'm trying my best not to! ^^_

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><p>The wagon still smelled of freshly cut wood and turpentine and there was already a horse attached to it. "Courtesy of Dunhill," she told her. "I'll add a stable and garage behind your place later."<p>

"I'll—"

"Don't worry about the payment," Rio interjected her, knowing full well what's on the pinkette's mind. "This is just the way we run the town. When I got here three years ago, Dunhill gave me half the field worth of seeds and farming tools, and Neil gave me a cow."

"_Neil_?" Reine blinked in surprise. Such a gesture could be expected of Dunhill, but Neil?

Rio grinned. "Yes, Neil. Your neighbor."

"The nest hair…" Reine muttered under her breath, still finding it hard to believe that he could be generous.

Rio caught her voice and burst into a fitful laughter. "His hair is really something, right?" she said. "Allen's been trying to trim it or whatever. For some reasons those two guys are on each other's throat."

"And yet they're neighbors?"

Rio shrugged. "Good thing I put some space between their houses. And now there's your cottage as well."

Reine remembered her first encounter with this Neil. "That's unlikely."

Rio saw the look on Reine's face and smiled. "Look, Reine, I know that Neil can be quite… challenging. But, he's one of the kindest people I've ever known as well," she couldn't help but to chuckle when she saw Reine's dumbfounded look. "You know _Pride and Prejudice_, right?"

"Of course," she nodded. "One of my favorites."

"Then, you should've known better!" Rio chortled.

"Oh, no way," Reine grumbled, but not knowing what to say next.

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><p>Gwen's head perked up when someone knocked on the door. It couldn't have been Reine, but who would visit their house?<p>

Gwen rose from her chair and headed towards the door. When she opened it, she found the redheaded stylist standing on the other side. His lips tugged up on one side forming a crooked smile, with his canine teeth peeked out very slightly. Somehow, it was _so_ hard to tear away her eyes from his features.

"I'm touched that you found me still so attractive despite having been staring at me for quite a while, but it's understandable," he said with a teasing tone before handing her a paper bag decorated with a blue ribbon. "Consider this my welcoming gift for you and your sister."

Gwen snapped back and took the package from him. "What is this?"

"Shampoo that I made myself using materials from the forest," Allen replied with a hint of pride in his voice. "Trust me, your chemical-ridden hair with regain its former glory with this."

Gwen's heart clenched when she heard it and subconsciously she reached for her hair. The rigorous chemo had not just thinned her hair; it destroyed those who managed to cling on their roots. She had forgotten how her hair had been before the chemo—all she knew now was that her hair was brittle when touched and their ends split quite badly. Time to time, people had told her to just shave the rest of her hair, but she didn't want to—_couldn't_—think of how bizarre she would look then.

"It will take time, but don't doubt my concoction," Allen assured her, as if he had been reading her mind. "How do you think Dunhill managed his hair, anyway?"

An image of Dunhill balding at the crown of his head—hence, the hat—made her at the danger of bursting into laughter. Gwen immediately covered her mouth in a slight embarrassment when she realized that Allen was still there, but it seemed that he had seen her.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered. "Would you like to come in for some drink? We don't have much, but I'm sure there's some tea somewhere…"

"No, it's fine, I have to get going soon," Allen replied. "Unsurprisingly, you are ten times better earlier, you know, when you're about to laugh."

He grinned, revealing two rows of white porcelain teeth. The only flaw in his otherwise perfectly lined rows of teeth would be his upper canine teeth—both were sticking out of the line. However, somehow that perceived flaw looked just fine with him—beautiful, even, although she knew she didn't need to tell him that with his already well-established ego.

"What's your middle name?"

"Huh? Mine?" Gwen blinked. "It's Elizabeth. Guinevere Elizabeth."

For a moment, Allen's eyes widened in surprise. It alarmed Gwen, of course, when she noticed that. _But, Elizabeth is quite a common name._

Before she had the chance to ask him, Allen had recomposed himself. "Very well, see you around, I guess… Guinevere Elizabeth."

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><p><em>"You are to remain on Earth, your remaining powers taken until further notice to be issued."<em>

He knew very well that that "further notice" wouldn't come soon. Decades, if he was lucky. He watched his reflection on the mirror; he hadn't aged at all ever since then. However, he noticed that his body had become more muscular compared to when he had just come into the town, courtesy of his current occupation.

He thought this town was the perfect place to wait for what could possibly be eternity. Back then, there were only a few people: Dunhill, Kosaburo and Hana, and then Emma and her daughter Yuri. Yuri, the only person that appeared to be around his own age was not someone who was interested to find out about others' history and too shy to socialize. It was perfect.

Dunhill and Hana had helped him to start his business back then, which was why he couldn't voice out his objection when Dunhill proposed to turn the settlement into a slightly bigger town for people like them. Besides, Dunhill and Hana had correctly pointed out that lowering their barrier would also mean more business for the town—and for him, too.

Neil took off to his barn, which he named Animal Sanctuary and retrieved his wagon. When he reached the town square, much to his surprise, the pinkette was already there with her counter ready on its spot. When he realized that she had left him with the more grassy side of the town square, the right side, he led himself to believe that it was due to Dunhill telling her instead of any kind of initiative of her own.

Their eyes met when she looked up. She didn't say anything—not even a greeting—as she turned around to arrange her goods. He silently dragged himself to his spot and set up his own stall.

From all the people this place could attract… why must it be her?

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><p><em>Both Allen and Neil seem to have something for, or against, the sisters...<em>

_Stay tuned to find out what happens next!_

_Thanks for reading! Please rate and review :D_


	5. Behind the Scenes

_Hey all, it's been quite some time! ^^_

_Peachie: thanks! and as for what Allen is, you'll find it out in this chapter, too!_

_teamBLAZE: I'll let you decide who's the second Elizabeth: Reine or the yet-to-be-introduced one. ^^_

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><p>Ever since Reine took over the general store, Hana had more time to do other things. She walked towards the cupboard and opened it; bright light came out when it happened. She reached in and took a tapestry, a part of it, which was woven entirely with red threads, but of different shades of red.<p>

Hana ran her finger on the tapestry carefully. Even with her aged mind, she still remembered when and how she weaved each thread into the tapestry; some threads had gone a long way before finding its place here.

People knew of her sisters: the one who spun the thread, the one who measured it and then the one who cut it—the beginning and the end.

No one seemed to pay particular attention to what happened in the middle, so they didn't really know her. However, she had heard it often, some people just claimed that they were 'fated to meet'.

That's right—it's fate.

And it's her _real_ job as the fourth, the unknown Moirai Sister: the one who weaved people's threads, bringing their fates together.

Her fingers stopped over a certain weaving of two threads—one was dull while the other was bright. Her sisters had told her of the… unique circumstances of the dull red thread, which was why she decided to weave it with this certain bright red thread.

However, not even she would know what would come after this.

* * *

><p><em>There it goes again…<em> Reine noted inwardly as she saw the line of customer in front of Neil's stall—all females. She noticed it since day one; why wasn't she surprised that those girls didn't come over to her stall?

"Excuse me, Miss?"

Reine jerked up and turned to face her new customer. "Hi, may I help you?" she immediately asked.

"Can you get me these things on the list?" He gave her a piece of paper.

"Oh, sure," Reine replied, taking the paper and skimmed it. She then took a paper bag and began to fill it with the things written down on the list: flour, rice, curry powder, oil and wine. After rechecking the amount, Reine folded the tip of the paper bag carefully. "The total would be 2140 G," she told him.

The man gave her the money and Reine counted it again before smiling and handing the bag over to the customer. "Thank you for your purchase. Please come back soon," she said with a practiced tone.

The customer smiled back at her. "Oh, right, before I forget."

"Hm?"

He gave her another piece of paper, smaller than the first. "In case you open a delivery service,"

Reine took a look at the paper: a phone number. "Wait, but we don't—"

Too late. The customer was already gone.

The pinkette sighed and shoved the paper into her drawer; she didn't realize that the said drawer was already half-filled with similar kind of papers. It had been a week since she settled down in the small town and everything seemed to run smoothly—very smoothly, in fact—with customers coming from inside and outside of the town. Many asked her—suggested, even—that she started a delivery service.

_Perhaps I can start thinking about that…_

"Reine!"

Reine looked up and saw Gwen walking up the path towards the town square carrying lunch boxes. Gwen grinned at her as she jogged the rest of her way and put the boxes on the counter. "Care to guess what's on the menu today?"

"I sure hope you don't only put vegetable rolls in…" Reine replied less enthusiastically. Unlike Gwen, an aspiring vegan (a good thing, actually, noting her illness), Reine identified herself as an almost-carnivore (even visiting Rio's farm and seeing her food in their living form didn't bother her of her choices, actually).

Gwen laughed. "I'd like that, but I don't want to see you on hunger strike either."

The two sisters walked over to a nearby bench and Gwen opened the lunch box: rice balls with vegetable rolls, rolled egg, and tempura. "Looks nice," Reine commented while reaching for her chopsticks.

The sisters enjoyed their lunch together, just like any other day, under the shade of the tree. "Neil's store sure is popular," Gwen commented as she took a bite of her roll.

"Not for quite the legit reasons, I guess," Reine quipped. "I think he can be a host at night for extra bucks and he'll still get the same customers."

Gwen grimaced wryly. "I never thought you imagine him—"

"That's not quite hard to imagine," Reine interjected, taking another bite of the rolled egg. "He's okay-looking, I'll give him that."

"Right…" Gwen trailed off unsurely.

While munching on her egg, Reine's mind began to wander off. She noticed that actually, she never saw Neil eating his lunch. There was always a queue on his stall and he's actually a kinder merchant than he's letting on by not letting his customers to wait for too long—so long as they meant real business.

Pity—yes, she believed it would be pity that made her called out to him. "Yo, Neil!"

Even with her one eye, she knew Neil's customers turned to glare at her when they heard her voice. However, what she didn't see—figuratively—was the animal dealer finally leaving his counter to walk over to where she was.

"What's your business? If—"

"—you are here just to look around, feel free to walk away," Reine continued seamlessly. "It's so easy to memorize that line."

Neil rolled his eyes. "I don't have much time."

Reine took the lunch box and offered it to him, much to the surprise of both Neil and Gwen. "I'm feeling nice, so I'll let you take my share of the vegetable roll."

"Reine!" Gwen pouted. "You're just—"

Neil opened his mouth at the same time. "I'm not hung—" he was interrupted, not so gracefully, by the loud rumbling sound of his stomach. Gwen turned with her jaw slightly open at Neil while Reine smiled smugly at the blond. "Not hungry, eh?"

"You don't seem to be the type who would go on diet."

Reine rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, will I give you vegetable rolls if I'm ever on diet?" she quipped. "I'm not a big fan of veggie rolls, so it's a win-win deal for both of us."

Gwen grumbled under her breath; Reine always had a way to _not_ eat the vegetable rolls. However, she didn't feel comfortable letting Neil go without any food now that she knew he was _starving_.

But, no, she wouldn't let Reine off the hook not so easily this time.

So, Gwen put on her best smile and told Neil: "You can take the rolled egg, too—all of it, actually."

Reine glared at Gwen—_how could she?! _—but the words said couldn't be unsaid. Gwen smirked back at Reine.

Neil took a vegetable roll and bit it. He then turned around and walked back to his counter without saying anything else—not that Reine expected anything from him, anyway (don't get her wrong, she still disliked him _badly_, but not bad enough to let him go on starving).

Reine heard him sighing in-between the munching.

But she didn't see the smile that began to bloom on his lips.

* * *

><p>His body felt warm as a new surge of strength ran through its veins. Allen could feel his cheeks became hotter and the color of his skin brightened up. Yes, his body temperature would be closer to humans now, although it would never quite reach that point ever again. Allen straightened his back and saw at what he had left: a dried piece of carcass.<p>

Poor bear… but he had no choice.

It had been some time since he… followed his more natural instincts. He had trained hard to satiate himself with human food and found that he quite liked it. It made his nose became way more sensitive to blood—now, he could roughly guess one's species from the smell of his or her blood—and it worked to his advantage up until now. However, he had decided that he had to tame his nose quite a bit.

Allen ran a thumb over the trail of blood on his chin and licked it.

He wondered what Neil would do once he learned about this.

* * *

><p><em>The shortest way into a man's heart is through his stomach...<em>

_Will that be the case this time, too?_

**_A/N: No, Tailor of Our Hearts, I won't go all Twilight although our beloved self-aggrandizing redhead is a vampire._**


End file.
